His companion was waiting for him when he returned, already mounted and apparently waiting for a heading. The dizzy tingling had still not faded by the time Shahar mounted and signed their direction, but luckily the woman didn’t need a great deal of direction; she moved into a loose following position as soon as Akaidras began to move.
Snow descended from her self-imposed post on the top of the boulders, taking up her usual stance at Akaidras’ right flank. Tuka, well aware of what they were going to do and where she fit into the puzzle, took up the opposite position at Shahar’s left.
“It is a warm day today, which is surprising.” It was the woman. Remarking upon the weather?
Brief, vague inquiry flickered over Shahar’s shoulders, although it wasn’t directed to her in particular so much as her words in general; was she noticing something besides the warmth? What was the purpose of the remark? Was it a self-contained musing, unconnected to the situation?
These questions ran through his mind briefly, and then he discarded them; whatever the case, he had a task to focus on. If there was more meaning to what the woman had said, she would continue her line of thought; he would not seek it out on his own initiative until it proved meaningful to do so.
The task at hand mostly involved keeping track of their direction; the shadows were small at this time of day, but they were there, and barely angled to the west. From west Shahar could assume east, north and south, and then could assume where they needed to go; he kept them closely northwest, and once their heading was certain he urged Akaidras into a brisk canter, something Drelah and Snow could both keep up with.
Snow, for her part, was beyond excited at the prospect of hunting; her skills had been improving vastly since she had first begun, and she was quickly moving out of her previous role as an observer and becoming actually useful in pursuing prey. True, she had nowhere near the speed that a purebred strider did, and her brilliant white coat made hiding somewhat of a challenge, but she possessed the most important thing that one could have on a hunt: cleverness. She was beginning to see patterns in the way animals moved and how they reacted, which was the first step to using such things to her advantage. She couldn’t sprint like Tuka or corner like Akaidras, but she could place herself in just the right pocket of shadow to prevent either of those things from becoming necessary. Ideas tumbled through her head in a confused din, and she wanted to try all of them. She wanted to hunt.
The brisk pace saw them covering the distance in a little less than an hour. During that time, Shahar did little to add to any conversations; if Jasmine asked questions, he would reply in simple, one-word answers, and if she remarked upon the weather again he would not respond at all. Silence was his preferred medium of communication, and rarely did it occur to him that such a thing might be considered rude.
Snow was the first to detect the water-scent, giving Shahar the confidence to signal the group to slow down; they were getting close to the river. A few more minutes, and he could hear the sound of a slow river meandering its way through the grasslands.
We’re almost there.
The river itself was tucked in a long, shallow depression in the Sea of Grass, spread wide and not all that deep; it might have been a little under the chest at the center. It wasn’t fast, not after the previous summer, but was still full enough to provide water to the multitude of animals and plants that made the bank their home.
The first thing Shahar did was turn his attention to the ground itself, to see what dangers were near. He wanted to go into the Web again, but he knew that even a brief unconsciousness could be catastrophic; the first trip had had the advantage of being near Endrykas, where the most dangerous predators did not usually go. Out here, however, there were bears and wolves and glassbeaks and lions; he needed to be certain that he would have five minutes of peace before he dared enter the Web.
With that in mind, the stories the grass told him were somewhat heartening; small antelope and coyotes made the majority of strong tracks, peppered by the occasional hyena. It was the hyena tracks that told him most; they were singular and solitary, likely all made by the same animal. Most patches of grass would be home to an entire clan, and would show many tracks and trails worn smooth by the laughing scavengers. But there was only one here, which meant that there was no clan nearby. And if there was one major deterrent to any hyena clan, it was a night lion pride, which would not settle near glassbeaks, and if there were glassbeaks nearby there would be more hyenas to scavenge off of them. There must have been a pride, then, to be bothered only by the lone brave hyena, and that meant that they had a chance to stop and rest. Night lions were dark and did better at night; as long as they took care to avoid any dens, the hunting party would remain safe enough for a short stop.
To the river, Shahar signed. Pause there, rest, horses drink, I go into Web, short trip, then move again.
Snow descended from her self-imposed post on the top of the boulders, taking up her usual stance at Akaidras’ right flank. Tuka, well aware of what they were going to do and where she fit into the puzzle, took up the opposite position at Shahar’s left.
“It is a warm day today, which is surprising.” It was the woman. Remarking upon the weather?
Brief, vague inquiry flickered over Shahar’s shoulders, although it wasn’t directed to her in particular so much as her words in general; was she noticing something besides the warmth? What was the purpose of the remark? Was it a self-contained musing, unconnected to the situation?
These questions ran through his mind briefly, and then he discarded them; whatever the case, he had a task to focus on. If there was more meaning to what the woman had said, she would continue her line of thought; he would not seek it out on his own initiative until it proved meaningful to do so.
The task at hand mostly involved keeping track of their direction; the shadows were small at this time of day, but they were there, and barely angled to the west. From west Shahar could assume east, north and south, and then could assume where they needed to go; he kept them closely northwest, and once their heading was certain he urged Akaidras into a brisk canter, something Drelah and Snow could both keep up with.
Snow, for her part, was beyond excited at the prospect of hunting; her skills had been improving vastly since she had first begun, and she was quickly moving out of her previous role as an observer and becoming actually useful in pursuing prey. True, she had nowhere near the speed that a purebred strider did, and her brilliant white coat made hiding somewhat of a challenge, but she possessed the most important thing that one could have on a hunt: cleverness. She was beginning to see patterns in the way animals moved and how they reacted, which was the first step to using such things to her advantage. She couldn’t sprint like Tuka or corner like Akaidras, but she could place herself in just the right pocket of shadow to prevent either of those things from becoming necessary. Ideas tumbled through her head in a confused din, and she wanted to try all of them. She wanted to hunt.
The brisk pace saw them covering the distance in a little less than an hour. During that time, Shahar did little to add to any conversations; if Jasmine asked questions, he would reply in simple, one-word answers, and if she remarked upon the weather again he would not respond at all. Silence was his preferred medium of communication, and rarely did it occur to him that such a thing might be considered rude.
Snow was the first to detect the water-scent, giving Shahar the confidence to signal the group to slow down; they were getting close to the river. A few more minutes, and he could hear the sound of a slow river meandering its way through the grasslands.
We’re almost there.
The river itself was tucked in a long, shallow depression in the Sea of Grass, spread wide and not all that deep; it might have been a little under the chest at the center. It wasn’t fast, not after the previous summer, but was still full enough to provide water to the multitude of animals and plants that made the bank their home.
The first thing Shahar did was turn his attention to the ground itself, to see what dangers were near. He wanted to go into the Web again, but he knew that even a brief unconsciousness could be catastrophic; the first trip had had the advantage of being near Endrykas, where the most dangerous predators did not usually go. Out here, however, there were bears and wolves and glassbeaks and lions; he needed to be certain that he would have five minutes of peace before he dared enter the Web.
With that in mind, the stories the grass told him were somewhat heartening; small antelope and coyotes made the majority of strong tracks, peppered by the occasional hyena. It was the hyena tracks that told him most; they were singular and solitary, likely all made by the same animal. Most patches of grass would be home to an entire clan, and would show many tracks and trails worn smooth by the laughing scavengers. But there was only one here, which meant that there was no clan nearby. And if there was one major deterrent to any hyena clan, it was a night lion pride, which would not settle near glassbeaks, and if there were glassbeaks nearby there would be more hyenas to scavenge off of them. There must have been a pride, then, to be bothered only by the lone brave hyena, and that meant that they had a chance to stop and rest. Night lions were dark and did better at night; as long as they took care to avoid any dens, the hunting party would remain safe enough for a short stop.
To the river, Shahar signed. Pause there, rest, horses drink, I go into Web, short trip, then move again.
